High Caliber Community: Kerry Stratford’s Vision for Tucson’s Tomorrow

Welcome to another inspiring episode of Life Along The Streetcar! This week, we’re thrilled to feature Kerry Stratford, a visionary brand and marketing strategist whose work has been instrumental in the revitalization of downtown Tucson. Join us as we explore Kerry’s journey, her current projects, and her exciting plans for the future. Discover how her dedication and innovative spirit continue to shape the vibrant community we love.

Meet Kerry Stratford: From Roots to Caliber Group

Kerry Stratford is a Tucson native with deep roots in the community. Growing up, she fondly remembers shopping at iconic downtown stores like Huckabees and Montgomery Wards. Her passion for Tucson led her to the University of Arizona, where she met her future husband, Herb Stratford, in a 19th-century European art history class. “We started doing projects together, even while we were still in school,” Kerry recalls. One of their early endeavors was the “Chromophobia” magazine, which showcased the university’s art department’s work and set the stage for their future collaborations.

After college, Kerry faced a tough job market but turned the challenge into an opportunity by founding her own business. With the help of her husband and later her business partner, Linda Welter, Kerry established the Caliber Group. “I started my business right out of college because a couple of the places I really wanted to work weren’t hiring,” Kerry explains. The Caliber Group has since become a premier branding agency, providing a full range of services from branding and marketing to public relations and digital strategies. Through Caliber, Kerry has worked with many iconic local brands and organizations, leaving an indelible mark on Tucson’s business landscape.

Driving Tucson’s Growth: Current Projects and Community Impact

Kerry Stratford’s influence in Tucson extends far beyond her business endeavors. Her work with the Caliber Group has significantly impacted local organizations, including the renowned Festival of Books and the Thrive in Tucson campaign. “We’ve been fortunate to work with a lot of iconic brands in Tucson, both nonprofit and for-profit,” Kerry shares. Her efforts have helped these entities enhance their outreach and engagement, contributing to the cultural and economic vibrancy of the city.

Kerry’s passion for community revitalization is evident in her involvement with various artistic and cultural projects. One notable achievement is the restoration of the Fox Theater, a project that turned a derelict building into a thriving cultural venue. “The Fox Theater had 42 homeless people living in it, so it was not in great shape,” Kerry recalls. Her commitment to transforming spaces also includes the creation of artist live-work spaces, which have provided much-needed facilities for Tucson’s creative community. Kerry’s projects, such as Downtown Saturday Nights and Phantom Galleries, have brought life and activity to downtown Tucson, making it a dynamic and attractive area for residents and visitors alike.

Shaping Tucson’s Future: Exciting Projects on the Horizon

Looking ahead, Kerry Stratford has several exciting projects in the pipeline that promise to further enhance Tucson’s appeal. One of the most anticipated developments is the Mosaic Quarter, a state-of-the-art sports complex designed to provide top-notch facilities for the community. “The Mosaic Quarter is an exciting project that aligns well with our vision for a vibrant and inclusive community,” Kerry explains. This project is set to become a major attraction, offering a range of recreational opportunities for Tucson residents.

In addition to the Mosaic Quarter, Kerry continues to support initiatives like Sun Corridor’s Thrive in Tucson campaign. This initiative aims to attract young talent to the city by highlighting Tucson’s unique lifestyle and affordable living. “We’ve added a cost of living calculator to the website so that people can see what their income would translate to in Tucson,” Kerry notes. Her forward-thinking approach and dedication to creating a welcoming and vibrant community make Kerry a pivotal figure in Tucson’s ongoing growth and development.

Be Part of Tucson’s Tomorrow

As Tom Heath reflects on Kerry’s remarkable contributions, we are reminded of the power of community and innovation in shaping our city’s future. Kerry Stratford’s vision and efforts have significantly impacted Tucson, creating a more vibrant, dynamic, and inclusive community. To learn more about Kerry Stratford and her work, visit Caliber Group. If you know someone making a difference in Tucson or have a story to share, contact Tom Heath to nominate them for a future episode. Let’s continue to celebrate and support those who are building a brighter tomorrow for Tucson!

Tune in now and be inspired by Kerry Stratford’s vision for Tucson’s tomorrow!

Tom Heath
Good morning. It’s a beautiful day in the old pueblo. And you’re listening to Kate Tucson. Thank you for spending a part of your brunch hour with us on your downtown Tucson community. Sponsored, all volunteer powered rock and roll radio station. This week, we’re gonna to speak with our guest, Kari Stratford, a seasoned brand and marketing strategist with over 25 years of experience.

Tom Heath
She’s been instrumental in the early revitalization of downtown efforts, and she leads her company, caliber Group, as a premier branding agent for many of the iconic local companies and organizations. It’s July 21st, 2024. My name is Tom Heath, and you’re listening to Life Along the Streetcar. Each and every Sunday, our focus on social, cultural and economic impacts in Tucson’s urban core, and we shed light on hidden gems everyone should know about from around the University of Arizona and all stops in between.

Tom Heath
You get all the details right here on 98.1 FM streaming on Downtown radio.org. Also available on your iPhone or Android using our very own Downtown Radio Tucson app. And if you want to connect with us on the show, you can interact on Facebook and Instagram. And if you want more information about us, our book, past episodes or, to hit that contact form, then head over to life along the streetcar.org.

Tom Heath
And, we always invite you to listen to the podcast when it’s out on all kinds of platforms, like Spotify and iTunes, iHeartRadio, cool places like that. And, speaking about cool places, Fox Theater’s got, their summer series happening. So a little later on today, though, the Sunday here, the 21st, we got frozen happening as a movie over there.

Tom Heath
And next week, the Muppets take Manhattan and I’m, I’m kind of torn because I was planning to go to see Muppets Take Manhattan at the Fox Theater. And there is also, at the Unscrewed Theater, which is a little bit outside of the downtown area here. There’s a show that is, kind of premiering. It’s similar to The Daily Show, but folks focus on Tucson, and they came into the Tucson Gallery when I was there.

Tom Heath
And the proper shops and did a, an interview and, we had a little fun with that and, got some good, good, serious points across as well. But that’s going to be happening at the Group theater. And I think it’s at the same time. So you might have to choose, between, a movie that I can rent somewhere and see on the small screen and, a live performance.

Tom Heath
So we, we shall see. But the live performance will, will probably went out when I get more details about that, that show at the Oscar theater. We’ll post that on the, Facebook page. But if you’re in downtown looking for something, with the air conditioning, today is frozen. Next week is Muppets take Manhattan. I’m sure there’s other movies throughout the summer at the, the Fox Theater.

Tom Heath
Well, our our guest today is, Kerry Stratford. And we’ve talked to her husband, herb, in the past, he’s been involved with Film Fest and, the theater. Carmen, the Fox theater renovation. And, I didn’t realize initially until a few years ago when I met Kerry that she has been heavily involved with this as well. I’d always seen Herb’s name connected to these projects and found out, you know, and talking to Kerry and others how impactful she’s been.

Tom Heath
And, and, and the revitalization of downtown. So very cool projects. And, I mean, I got to chat with her, but she runs a really successful marketing company here in town, and she’s always so busy. But we got her in the summer here to, come down to the Tucson Gallery Studios. We recorded an interview and really had a lot of fun, chatting about, some of her experiences, starting as a, as a young girl in downtown and all the way through the U of a,

Tom Heath
But this is my interview with, Kerry from a little earlier in the week. All right, so we’re here with Kerry Stratford and you and I met through local first Arizona. Believe.

Kerry Stratford
Yes. And that’s.

Tom Heath
True. I remember we were talking and I made some comment about Herb Stratford. And as you were related and you, like, I know the guy.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah.

Tom Heath
Being your husband.

Kerry Stratford
Yes.

Tom Heath
But then what I found out because I thought, you know, I just because I knew his name, I thought he was the one. Not that he isn’t, but he was the one doing all this work in downtown and just really driving all this. I did not realize until I talked with you that you have been such a huge part of this town for decades, and, I get to share that stories.

Tom Heath
When I said.

Kerry Stratford
Okay.

Tom Heath
Here we go. So you are from Tucson?

Kerry Stratford
I was born in Tucson. Yes. Okay. Native. So my parents moved here from Minneapolis, in the 50s. And I was born here. And, I remember fondly coming downtown and shopping at Huckabees and Montgomery wards and all the, all the great shops, Steinfeld, all the great shops and places down here. So. But I was pretty little when that happened.

Kerry Stratford
And everything moved to Elkhorn and.

Tom Heath
The big the big mall on the outskirts of town.

Kerry Stratford
That’s right.

Tom Heath
So, and then you, you have a right.

Kerry Stratford
Went to the movie. Herbert I met at the movie.

Tom Heath
Oh, I didn’t know that.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah.

Tom Heath
What clout was it in class or.

Kerry Stratford
We met in class. 19th century European art history.

Tom Heath
You know, I think most people take 19th century European art history to meet their significant other. Yeah, I’m not sure what else you might.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah. So, yeah, we met there. And then we started doing projects together. And, a lot of our first projects were when we were still in school and when we got out of school, right. Downtown.

Tom Heath
But what was something you did while you’re in school?

Kerry Stratford
We did, magazine, that, connected all of the departments, in the art department at the U of A, and showcased artists work, from all of the different departments which the art department had never done.

Tom Heath
Or roughly what year time frame was this?

Kerry Stratford
Late 80s.

Tom Heath
So there’s no there’s no technology like we have.

Kerry Stratford
No, no, no.

Tom Heath
I mean, this is like actual work.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah, it was work. And and then we turned, her and I did the work for a couple of years. And then we turned it into an internship. And for ten years, we ran internships where we oversaw students who were an editor and a designer of this publication. And then we got all the printing donated and all that for the department.

Kerry Stratford
So it was, it was a good, overview of the work that the department was turning out at that time.

Tom Heath
Well, that that, sort of I was going to ask some of the questions about how you got into what you’re doing. You know, professionally, it seems like that might have been a good start.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah. Well, I mean, I was taking, visual communications classes and got a degree in that. Herb was a photography major. Okay. And, and this magazine was called chromosome. Yeah. Because it was black and white. We couldn’t afford to print in color. Phobia means fear of color.

Tom Heath
That’s fantastic. Yeah, that’s that’s so that’s where the creativity. Right. How do you take something that you have a lack and you turn it into a, a positive? It’s beautiful. Beautiful. So let’s talk a little about caliber. Yeah. Is this is was this your creation?

Kerry Stratford
So I, started my business right out of college, because a couple of the places I really wanted to work, weren’t hiring. So I started my business, and, had, two business partners. I eventually bought them out and, merged with, a partner that I’m partnered with right now, Linda Welter. So she and I created the caliber group.

Kerry Stratford
When we merged together and started working together.

Tom Heath
And so this you do a lot of, as we talk about storytelling with you, help with branding and marketing and, and getting the, the word out about what you do in this, in this environment.

Kerry Stratford
Right. We do. We’re a full service, brand marketing, public relations and digital firm. And so we do, everything you can imagine for branding, social media, public relations, crisis communications, digital, and for all of our clients, we do a lot of, a mix of all of those things and integrate it. You know, some of those things.

Tom Heath
I’m sure it’s it’s probably one of those things that they they might hire you to do a job, a and then a few years later, you’re, you’re sort of integral into their, their growth and their strategy. And hey, we just had this come out. We need to we need to manage this crisis. How do we do that?

Kerry Stratford
Right.

Tom Heath
We can do that.

Kerry Stratford
When people come to us because they have a crisis, they have an opportunity. They have, a need or maybe it’s a challenge. Maybe they have a new competitor. So they come to us with a need like that, and then it turns into something more usually, so that we.

Tom Heath
I’ve been working with the festival books for years, and then, of course, and these conversations like, oh, when they first started, I helped to create that brand and that logo. Yes. You’ve been there since the beginning.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah, they told me about, I don’t know, four months before the very first one and said, oh no, we have a logo, but we don’t know what to do with it and we need a brand. And so we quickly with.

Tom Heath
Like everything you do a one at once. Right. Crisis brand and all of it and. Yeah. Yeah. Four months.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah. It was good. And then we created the whole brand and all the pieces and parts, that became, you know, sort of the, the foundation for the festival. And it, it that festival became like the third or fourth largest in the country in the second or third year. So it was a big deal.

Tom Heath
And then a couple of, you know, 100 plus thousand people.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah.

Tom Heath
On the U of a mall for two days.

Kerry Stratford
So you and I were both, that’s all volunteers and didn’t even know it.

Tom Heath
Yeah, I started at the I started the very first day as a volunteer. I just showed up, you know, volunteered, showed up and and we left. Right. So you’re there. You beat me by four months.

Kerry Stratford
A year.

Tom Heath
And probably a lot more time and energy to to to get that going. And you’ve worked for so many. I was looking at your, at your company’s website. I mean so many iconic brands and two so I could when your website is caliber group Tucson.

Kerry Stratford
Caliber group.com okay.

Tom Heath
Yeah. Yeah. So if you go there and you can just see all of these, these not just not just companies but efforts and organizations. I mean, it seems like caliber. Is it just sort of synonymous with with Tucson and cool things?

Kerry Stratford
Yeah. We’ve been very fortunate to work with a lot of the iconic brands in Tucson and good brands that are doing amazing things for our community, nonprofit, for profit. And, and, it’s we’ve been fortunate.

Tom Heath
In thrive now that’s one of the newer ones that I know of that, we haven’t talked to on this show about. But will the Thrive in Tucson campaign? Yeah.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah, that’s, Sun Corridor has, a new campaign called Thrive in Tucson. And it’s really to attract, younger folks to Tucson and and to let them see what the lifestyle is about and what the cost of living is and how they can come here. And there’s all kinds of complements of things that they’re going to want to do outside, you know, recreation and events and.

Tom Heath
What you created or found or put together a fabulous cost of living calculator so that if you how much do I make in this city, and how much are we gonna make in Tucson? And what does I get me, right.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah. That that has been added to the website so that people can really see.

Tom Heath
And it’s honest. It’s not like, oh, you can, you can have a mansion here. It’s like it’s on, say, you know what? You’re gonna have to do it a little bit less here.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah, yeah, I know it’s it’s pretty good.

Tom Heath
I was very fast. I’ve used that with multiple people to, to share with them. Just to give them an idea, I tend to test it out first to see what it’s going to say.

Kerry Stratford
Okay. Before I, before you do it.

Tom Heath
So that’s them. But yeah, but I do I do share regardless. So but take a step back here. I skipped a whole bunch of this. You’re, a young, a youngster downtown hanging out at Montgomery Ward’s and hockey’s. Then you go to the U of A.

Kerry Stratford
Yep.

Tom Heath
You meet your future husband, you do some cool stuff there, and you graduate at a time when a lot of the bright people from the U of A who graduated left town. It’s true. And you and herb, you stayed.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah.

Tom Heath
Why?

Kerry Stratford
You know, when I graduated, herb still had a year left in school. And then, when when he graduated, we had I had a business that started and, and we had already, ingrained ourselves in downtown nicely, were ingrained in, collective, galleries in town, along this, this very street that we’re sitting in front of here, we’re.

Tom Heath
Recording here in the Tucson Gallery studios or on Congress and Fields right across from a hotel. Congress.

Kerry Stratford
Yep. And so, we just, you know, it was, a place we wanted to be, a place we had a lot of contacts, and it was a really creative time. We were, reviving artists live workspaces down here. And, and so it was it was it was fun. We were doing, performance art nights in some of the hotel or some of the, restaurants and doing all kinds of really creative and cool things.

Kerry Stratford
There’s a great creative community here at that time.

Tom Heath
That’s, Kerry Stratford talking about her early days here, going all the way back to being a, a young kid hanging out at the department stores downtown. Our time at the U of A, where she met her husband, herb. And and then there, really big influence here in the, the downtown revitalization effort going way back into the, the 80s, 90s when things were really, I think, needing that tender care and love.

Tom Heath
We don’t know where I’d be if without, some of their efforts. We’ll be back to that interview in just a moment. My name is Tom Heath. You’re listening to Life Along the Streetcar in downtown radio 99.1 FM and streaming on downtown radio.org.

Tom Heath
We are back. We’re going to finish up the interview we recorded earlier this week at the Tucson Gallery Studios. Speaking of, it’s with Kerry Stratford. She is one of the principals at the caliber group, which is does a lot of marketing and branding for some iconic businesses and, efforts here in Tucson. And we’ll talk a little about that after in the segment as well.

Tom Heath
And, and she, as well as her husband and some others in her sphere have been very influential and in how the, revitalization of downtown that that foundation really started before we saw this most recent explosion. It was their efforts, to keep life and activities happening here in the urban core. So fun to, to to talk about all those things that they had time and energy to do.

Tom Heath
And really appreciate that they spent it on those projects. Let’s get back into the second half of that interview there. There wasn’t I mean, this was not there wasn’t a lot going on in downtown outside of that. I mean, you you were driving a lot of that traffic. I mean, yeah, hotel Congress, but you didn’t have the the number of of destination restaurants that we have now in the, in the Fox Theater was it was it was.

Kerry Stratford
Boarded up at the time. Yeah. No, I mean, there was people tend to think that it was all boarded up. But, you know, right across the street was one of our favorite places, which was the Arts District Bookstore. Jay Corriveau, it was a, clothing shop that a friend of ours had that was right there in Congress.

Kerry Stratford
So there was a lot of really cool things happening, Berta. Right. Lots of really cool shops.

Tom Heath
You remember the name of the clothing store? Yeah.

Kerry Stratford
Jake River.

Tom Heath
The Jake River. Was it was it new clothing or is it like a thrift store?

Kerry Stratford
No, it was new. Okay. Very cool. Hip tip clothes at the time. So. Yeah. And Berta. Right. A lot of art, and things. So this street had a lot of things happening on it. People like to say that it was boarded up, but it actually wasn’t. You know, one of the things that that we’re very fortunate in Tucson is that we had a lot of very creative people who had restaurants and, and shops, along Congress.

Kerry Stratford
And it, it had, they paid rent. And so these tenants, got the rent, they didn’t sell the building, turn it down to build something else. I remember when, some some folks from Tempe came down at one point and they’re like, oh, we wish we would have still have a street like this in Tempe, but we tore all of ours down.

Tom Heath
Yeah, I’ve heard that from a couple of people. Like, yeah. With Two suns, growth and development.

Kerry Stratford
But the people that kept those kept this open are all the the artists and all the, you know, the great restaurant tours. Cassie McGee. It was one of our favorite restaurants. There was there was amazing restaurants down here.

Tom Heath
So, who was coming down here at the time? It was it it was it the artist community or was it driving trucks? You know.

Kerry Stratford
Her her worked for, what was called the our sister partnership. And their charge, was to, create, restoration or recreate revitalization through, using art as an agent of change. Okay. And so they were really at the forefront of doing that. And they started something called downtown Saturday nights. More than 10,000 people come down here on Saturday.

Kerry Stratford
So, when they revitalized it and called it Downtown Saturdays, I mean, that was something that was happening back in the 90s. So, we were doing brown bag lunches in the library, Plaza. There was, we were doing Phantom Gallery. So whenever a shop was would close, we’d turn it into a gallery. So I was on the public art committee for the to some people Arts Council, and we would always enliven any space that was closed.

Tom Heath
I my my first experience with downtown, I’d moved here in 93, and it probably was a few years after that, and it was a fundraiser for probably the Boys and Girls Club of Big Brothers Big Sisters, one of those two, and it was a progressive dinner and, walking tour that was that, like, solidified my time here in Tucson.

Tom Heath
Like I’m staying, you know, I didn’t know that was necessarily going to leave it ever without that tour. But I saw so many cool places and, just really got a vibe that I didn’t know existed because I hadn’t come down here much. There were I mean, there were boarded up buildings and such, but, but but I think and that’s what I do remember.

Tom Heath
But now, as you’re talking about it, I do remember also in between that there was life. Oh yeah. Right. We had definitely we might have had some big stuff that wasn’t open, but we had a lot of things that were we had quantity, as well as quality. We just didn’t have the size. We got a fly buzzing around the, the, the studio here wants to be on the show.

Tom Heath
Well, that’s why we have the video, so you can.

Kerry Stratford
But when we started working on the Fox, of course, that was the goal, right? We had Congress and the Rialto ordering this, and you needed the fox. You needed to fill it in. And that’s what would the hope was. And that’s happening so.

Tom Heath
Well, and then you got so that got kind of gets me to the next section here, which is the physical. It wasn’t just philosophical and theoretical and artistic. You even got into the physical sort of reconstructing buildings and, and getting into places that had been that had been boarded up and were not in great shape, like the Fox Theater.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The the Fox Theater had 42 homeless people living in it. So, you know, it was it was not in great shape.

Tom Heath
I understand a few animals and.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah.

Tom Heath
And a few other.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah.

Tom Heath
Some on some living creatures. We just don’t know how to identify.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah. And the Julian Drew apartments over here. The bottom floor. We had a gallery that we moved into that one. It was a collective art gallery. Kind of like what? You’re sitting in there now. And that is now Charles steak. So, I mean, there were there were things that we were building and, and bringing people down here.

Kerry Stratford
And it was at a time when people were still scared of all the one way streets, and they were thinking it was scary down here and, you know, that sort of thing. But but that’s why you have to live in a place so that people don’t have to worry about those things.

Tom Heath
Yeah, it’s it’s it’s, they’re still true. People still are concerned about coming downtown is usually.

Kerry Stratford
Perception, not reality.

Tom Heath
Usually mean. I think any any community is going to have their challenges. And you can come sure. And any community across the country and and find issues on any given day. But I do think the perception of downtown, for those that haven’t been down recently, it’s it’s always interesting. Right? It’s those that haven’t been here that have that perception.

Kerry Stratford
Right.

Tom Heath
So how how do you like I looked at your resume and, and you’ve been on all kinds of boards. You’ve been on Alumni Council. I mean, just like, how do you find time to do all of this? Like a I mean, I think I’m a busy person. And when I look at your stuff like, man, I gotta do more work.

Kerry Stratford
We we don’t sleep. You know, one of the things is that her and I, we work on projects together. And so we do that on the weekends and nights. And then, of course, my business partner and I are always busy and always giving back to the community with, with our time and, and supporting nonprofits and, or, sitting on boards and, and giving back to the community in that way.

Kerry Stratford
So, you know, Linda Welter, my business partner, she’s the president of the chamber right now. And I just stepped down as the chair, like you said, of the, National Alumni Council for the U of A, and that’s that’s how we get back where we’re doing that, that sort of thing all the time.

Tom Heath
But it seems like when it doesn’t seem like you’re taking time off, you’re just rotating your time to different causes. Yeah. Like some people though, like I’ve served on boards. I just got off to downtown to some partnership board. I’m taking a step back and kind of focusing on some of my other aspects. And so you just go, okay, I’m done with this on.

Tom Heath
Move over to this, this, this challenge next. And I just amaze me with what tireless are you a robot? Are you are you.

Kerry Stratford
Know, but sometimes I think I don’t sleep, but,

Tom Heath
What does anything, I mean, I’d love to talk more about caliber because you’ve just been gotten so many awards recently. One of your was it was your partner who was in Tucson or.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah. As the president of the Jedi.

Tom Heath
Yeah. Yeah. So it’s like, every, everywhere now that I know you and I know the name and. Yeah. No known for, for years now but it’s like I see it everywhere. Yeah. You guys are doing a great job with that. You’re branding yourselves without just by, by connecting yourselves with all these great organizations in Tucson.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah. We’re we’re very fortunate. George Bush, some great people and great brands.

Tom Heath
Anything exciting coming up on the horizon that, you can share with us, or you usually have too many NDAs. You’re like, well, I’m working on a really cool project, which will be announced in 3 to 4 weeks.

Kerry Stratford
No. You know me, we’re always working on on fun things. I mean, one of our, newer clients is the Mosaic quarter, and we’re hap. We’re excited about that. Which is the.

Tom Heath
Oh, yeah, the sports complex down.

Kerry Stratford
The sports. Yeah. So that’s an exciting project that.

Tom Heath
Seems to tie in well with thrive.

Kerry Stratford
Yep yep yep. And then of course, some quarter they’re always looking they’re always bringing new folks to, to Tucson.

Tom Heath
And have you had any contact or any, connections with, the Sunshine Mile.

Kerry Stratford
Haven’t have it’s not I’ve been watching it. It’s, it’s great. And have friends who are working on some of the, you know, restaurants and shops. And of course, Damian Blanco is a friend of ours. Okay. So he, I know he’s been involved in that, and.

Tom Heath
I have a feeling they would come, come calling for it in the near future when they start to get some, some foundation and they’re like, how do we get the word out that we’re back and ready for business?

Kerry Stratford
Yeah.

Tom Heath
Oh, man. Okay. I, I feel like we just didn’t even scratch the surface. Like, can you come back another time? Maybe.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah, absolutely.

Tom Heath
Okay. Any, any any, ways people can get Ahold of you as a best through social media. Instagram, Facebook.

Kerry Stratford
I’m on, I’m on Instagram. It’s, Kerry Stratford on Instagram. And LinkedIn for sure.

Tom Heath
It’s k e.

Kerry Stratford
R e r y up the Irish spelling. Okay. And and yeah, that’s a great place to get in touch with me.

Tom Heath
And if you want to do business of caliber just to reach out to.

Kerry Stratford
Yeah, we have on our website a contact form that you can send and that comes to my business partner and I.

Tom Heath
Know I appreciate all that you done. And again, if you listen to this interview, if you’re thinking, boy, that’s a lot, but we haven’t even really touched about, I mean, every project she mentioned could be a show in and of itself. So we’ll we’ll get you back off. We’ll just keep plugging away in this. And they will have a series of, we’ll call it the Stratford Chronicles or something.

Tom Heath
And we can appreciate all you do for two. So I appreciate your time today. Thank you.

Kerry Stratford
Thank you.

Tom Heath
Kerry Stratford, the caliber group, also influential in downtown’s development and revitalization over the decades, really enjoyed speaking with her. And if you want to see the video or interview, it’ll be up on our website here in the next day or so. I can over a lifelong streetcar.org. And that’s where we have the show posted, as well as the transcript and, any videos?

Tom Heath
My name is Tom Heath. You’re listening to Life Along the Streetcar in Downtown radio 99.1 FM and streaming on downtown radio.org.

Tom Heath
Well, I do hope you enjoy your Sunday evening, but before you get there, don’t forget to stick around and listen to Ted Brzezinski words and work coming up in just a few minutes here on downtown radio, he talks to writers and members of the labor movement at noon, Ty Logan and heavy metal. Really great show there for about an hour.

Tom Heath
And then V live at 1:00. Bring a music back to the station. And if there’s things, you want to hear out there, things that are, of interest to you that we’re not covering here on the show. We invite you to tag us on Instagram or Facebook or email us contact at lifeline streetcar.org. You know, since it’s a hyper local show, if you’re listening, you probably have some interest in that.

Tom Heath
And we appreciate you. Sharing that with us so we can be better at what we do. You can also help the station be better by heading over to Downtown radio.org, looking at all the cool shows, maybe listening in on something you haven’t heard in the past and hit the donate or support button. See how you can help us.

Tom Heath
As a volunteer run station, we certainly count on your support. To make improvements as we need to. Well, I want to thank again, Kerry Stratford for her time this week. And, sharing, I hope to get her back on so we can cover even more of of some of the fun projects that, she talked about.

Tom Heath
We start the show every week with Ryan Hood, their music. And James Portis is our production specialist. My name is Tom Heath. I’m the host and producer. And we’re going to leave you with music today from the United Rhythms of Brazil. Kind of a song fitting for Kerry Stratford. It’s called We Built This City. We built This City.

Tom Heath
I hope you have a great week and tune in next Sunday for more life along the streetcar.